Controlling your cholesterol

If you Google “cholesterol,” you’ll get 112 million responses. Overwhelming and confusing, to say the least. So we’re going to give you a straightforward rundown of what you need to know about: 1) keeping lousy LDL cholesterol under control so it can’t ding your blood vessels and cause cardiovascular disease, heart attack, high blood pressure, stroke and peripheral artery disease, and 2) about helping good-for-you HDL cholesterol do its job.

Today, high cholesterol is a problem for more than 102 million Americans and almost all because of lifestyle missteps! When cholesterol enters your bloodstream, it’s packaged in protein-covered particles.

Starting at age 20, you should get a blood test every five years to keep track of your blood lipid levels. It will reveal your total cholesterol, LDL, HDL and triglyceride levels. The recommended targets are:

— LDL less than 100 mg/dL; below 70 if you have diabetes or a family history of heart disease, or stroke. We think these recommended LDL numbers will go lower in the future since the lower your LDL, the lower your risk of heart disease and stroke. — HDL of 60 mg/dL or more. — Triglycerides levels of 149 or less (optimal is 100 or less).

— Total cholesterol below 200 mg/dL.

To reduce harmful triglyceride and LDL levels and to boost HDL try these three steps:

Step 1: Eliminate all trans and most saturated fats from your diet (red and processed meats, prepared snack foods and bakery goods, especially).

Step 2: Increase your intake of fiber by adding 100% whole grains and fruits and vegetables. We recommend seven to nine servings of produce and two to three servings of whole grains.

Step 3: Make sure you get at least 150 to 300 minutes of general physical activity or 75 to 150 minutes of vigorous-intensity aerobic activity or an equivalent combination weekly.